Curiosity Killed the Viking
by Eidorian999
Summary: There was one scene in HtTYD that had some pretty good "What If" potential, and I'm not talking about when Hiccups tries to run away. I'm talking about when Astrid finds Hiccup in the woods during her training, on his way to see Toothless...
1. Chapter 1

Methinks I've been thoroughly sucked into HtTYD. Not that I'm complaining. Oh well. Basically, this is set during the time that Hiccup spends learning about dragons, and trying to get everything completely ready for a first time free flight with Toothless. (Wow, did not actually mean to use alliteration like that...)

Astrid sees Hiccup going to see Toothless, during one of her training sessions. I can't help but think that she would have been a little curious as to _what_ he was wearing, and what the bundle he was carrying was. However, she doesn't get to asking him about it in this chapter.

* * *

I couldn't help but think over what I had seen...

Hiccup had never really been on my radar, so to speak. Chief's son, sure. Clumsy and disastrous to be around beyond belief, most definitely.

Hardly worth paying attention to? Beyond doubt.

But suddenly, he'd simply _exploded_ onto the dragon training scene. First he'd shown up in the first place, which was a surprise. The first two lessons were a testament to his utter inability to do anything correctly. (Although, I will admit his smithing skills are something to stand in awe of, considering how well made my axe is.)

But ever since, he'd somehow... Become _competent_. A word no one would have imagined being able to apply to him. First, there was the Zippleback. That was peculiar, but at the time I just sort of... passed it off as a one-time thing, like the Zippleback having heard how much of a dangerous klutz Hiccup was, or some insane reason like that.

But the Gronckle? That was just plain freaky. Gronckle's _do not_, I repeat, _do not_, suddenly collapse from an empty-handed blow of _any_ sort, from _anyone_. I don't think even Chief Stoick could pull that off, those things have such thick skulls!

I didn't even _see_ what the Hel he did to the Nadder, all I saw was him dash behind it's head. At the time, I thought he was going to try and run past it, to get out of either my way, or the dragons, I didn't care which. But then _that_ dragon collapsed as well, before I'd even begun to swing my axe!

And as for the terrible Terror? That was just plain weird... I mean, how did Hiccup even _know_ that the light reflecting off of his shield would distract it? He can't have been coming to the arena to experiment with 'em or anything insane like that, because I'D been in there most of the time, training in some way or another. No one even saw him around the village of an afternoon anymore, so I assumed he'd been training in the woods or something.

I decided to take a leaf out of his book. If it could somehow help him overtake my spot as top of dragon training, it could sure as hell help me reclaim it.

This is where we get to the interesting part. I'd just wrenched my axe out of the same tree I'd been throwing it at for over an hour, performed a somersault roll, landed perfectly on my feet, arm extended to throw the axe, _again_, when I suddenly realised who was standing not five metres in front of me.

_Hiccup._

But something was off. And I mean, _really_ off. For starters, he was wearing some weird leather getup over his tunic. I'd never seen anything of the like before. And he was carrying something, something that looked to be made of leather as well, but with straps criss-crossing the side of it that I could see. I'd never anything remotely resembling _that_, either. Certainly not in Hiccup's hands.

When I stopped dead, axe in hand, he just turned slightly, and walked off! I tried to follow, only for him to vanish, _right from under my nose!_

Understandably, I was rather frustrated by now. I'd finally seen for myself that he was in fact coming out to the woods every afternoon, seen that he had some bizarre kind of leather gear, and I was _still no closer to having an answer!_

It was the single most infuriating thing I've ever experienced. _Hiccup,_ was somehow managing to become better than I'd ever been. _Hiccup,_ of all people! I wanted to know _HOW!_ If it could make _him_ that good, then imagine how much better off the village would be if we could apply the same training to _every_ viking! If everyone could fell a dragon with one blow, _unarmed_, we'd be able to beat back the dragons like never before! We could finally rid ourselves of them! If they lost too many trying to take food, they'd give up!

But despite coming close, _so close!_

I STILL DIDN'T KNOW HOW HE WAS DOING IT!

After realising that he'd evaded me, I returned to the village, and asked a few questions.

For starters, I asked Gellert, the village Tanner, if Hiccup had requested any leather from him. Apparently, not only had he requested leather, he'd requested the strongest, smoothest, essentially the best, leather that Gellert had! And he hadn't wanted it stitched in anyway, just the leather, freshly tanned.

THAT was highly suspicious, to me. I wasn't aware of Hiccup having any sort of leather working ability. So that was my next question, directed at Gobber, as he would be more likely to know than anyone.

It turned out, he was actually very talented at detailed leather work. Apparently, he would have had potential as a tailor, if it weren't for the fact that he was very prone to stabbing the needle straight through his own thumb.

Multiple times. In the _same_ spot!

_I_ shuddered at the thought. Getting injured by a dragon was one thing. _Sewing needles,_ especially berkian ones, were another altogether. It had actually been tested, and somehow, those needles were able to cause more pain than any weapon, claw or fire. And they were sure as Hel a lot sharper. The only reason we didn't use them as weapons was because of our Viking pride.

Getting back on track, my final stop was Hiccup's new stalker... To an extent.

Ruffnut.

My questions for her were two fold. I asked if she had any idea where in the forest he went, and when he usually got back.

She had no clue as to the first question, unfortunately. And _that_ was a true surprise. Somehow, he was able to evade one of the most determined Vikings on the island.

She did have an answer for the second question, however. He usually returned a bit past moon rise. He would either head to the forge, with a large bundle of leather, or straight back to his home, also with the bundle of leather.

So I waited. One way or another, I _would_ have my answer...

* * *

Yeah, determined Viking Warrior-Godesses ('Cos seriously, that's pretty much what Astrid is) are not the easiest thing to get off your back, I'd imagine. Hiccup's going to have some explaining to do, methinks...


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter covers Astrid confronting Hiccup outside the forge. It gets a bit... Intense, should I say? I'm not entirely sure whether it's K+ appropriate. If someone could give me a bit of advice as to that, I'd be very happy.

Is everyone liking the general idea? I thought the whole 'What if' concept was a bit too frequently applied to when Hiccup tried to run away, so I though I should try to find something original to use. I must say, I got quite a bit more of a response for this fic than I expected!

I'm sorry the chapters aren't longer. The story isn't flowing evenly at the moment. Don't worry, I plan to keep working on this.

* * *

Hiccup wasn't likely to return for another two hours or so, so I had time to kill. Should he happen to return early, I'll find him anyway. He can't hide forever...

The problem was finding something to do to pass the time. For the first few minutes, I considered how I was going to start things off, until I realised that regardless of any plan I came up with, I'd end up using an intimidation tactic to scare the information out of him.

Although, it wasn't a complete waste of time, as it did give me a very good idea on how to scare him.

It's a real drag, trying to come up with something to occupy your time, isn't it? Especially when your waiting for something important. Not that Hiccup _was_, or anything like that. Certainly not to _me_. As far as I was concerned, he was cheating somehow, and it was about time I kicked him out of his stolen spotlight.

Guess what I ended up doing? I'll give you two guesses.

If you guessed re-reading the Dragon Manual, you guessed correctly. After all, despite Nadders, Nightmares, Gronckles and Zipplebacks being the only breeds we commonly had to deal with, there were plenty of others.

It was actually quite pleasant, reading over the old legends that revolved around some of them. I can sorta understand why Fishlegs gets so excited over dragons now. I mean, the Skrill? Seriously nasty dragon right there. Apparently, it's only appeared five times in the three hundred years Vikings have been living on Berk.

It's quite a large dragon. Supposedly three times the size of a full-grown Nightmare. (Which are about a size-and-a-half bigger than the ones we usually see. Let's just say the dragons don't often get to live their very long lives to the fullest...) Much like the Nightmare, in that it has no front legs. However, unlike the Nightmare, it doesn't use it's wings as secondary legs. It sort of balances on it's hind legs when on the ground.

Interestingly, there's a note at the bottom of the page, saying that according to Merchant tales, the Skrill has been sighted far to the south in some place called... Af-rika, I think it's called. It's supposed to carry off these large, grey creatures with huge ears, and a massively long snout.

I've never heard of the place, nor these things called... E-lef-aunt, I think. Whoever the scribe was, they needed to take a refresher course, 'cos I could hardly read the bloody book in some spots!

According to the manual, it didn't breathe fire in any fashion similar to the others. From what I could make out, it instead spat some sort of... oil, I think it is. It then ignited the oil by lobbing a fireball at it. Odd, in my opinion. It could toss fireball, but instead decided to ignite the oil... That was when I noticed the Skrill's shot limit: 2, sometimes 3.

This thing had to have the least amount of shots of any dragon species there was! But it made it easier to understand it's chosen method of attack. It couldn't afford to waste it's shots, so it made them as effective as possible by covering as large an area as possible with oil, and _then_ using it's fire.

I had to say, it was pretty darned clever. However loathe I was to admit it...

I'm afraid to say that I ended up just flicking through the entries. Although there was one that caught my something (Something about turning victims inside-out) I wasn't able to find it again. By the time the moon was beginning to rise, I'd almost worked my way right through to the Night Fury. I didn't bother looking at it, 'cos I'd already read _that_ one dozens of times, imagining what it looked like.

I found it hard to believe I'd managed to pass several hours re-reading the Dragon Manual. But I had a job to do now. No more time for reading. I put the book aside, and hid myself in the shadow of the forge, waiting for Hiccup to return. Yes, there was a chance that he would go home instead, but if that was the case, then I'd only wait at the forge for so long. If he hadn't come back in the next hour or so, I'd head to his house. If he happened to be asleep, he soon wouldn't be.

I was determined to get my answers.

Time passed, with me waiting patiently outside the forge. Eventually it got to the point where He had to have gone straight home.

"Typical," I muttered to myself, as I stood up straight and brushed myself down. "It's almost like he _knows_ I was waiting for him. Oh well. If he wants to make this harder than it has to be..." I cracked my knuckles, feeling some of the tension ease out of me.

Naturally, it was just as I started to walk between the crowded houses that I heard a banging from the forge. Not the sound of metal, more like someone had kicked something, maybe a bucket, and sent it flying through the air.

I stopped dead, fuming slightly.

"Why am I not surprised?" I mutter to myself, before turning right back around and heading the way I just came from.

"Hiccup," I called out as I approached. There was a brief pause, then Hiccup came tumbling out of the forge through the window, closing it behind him. Strangely, he did it in an almost... _graceful_ fashion.

I grimaced slightly. Another word no one would have thought would ever apply to Hiccup. I did notice something though. He was wearing that leather get-up of his still.

"Astrid! Hey- Hi, Astrid. Hi- Astrid, hi Astrid."

Wow. And I honestly had not thought he could possibly be more obviously head-over-heels for me. Yeah, I knew. Contrary to popular belief, I wasn't completely oblivious. I think the only teenage guy on the island who _wasn't_ infatuated with me was Tuffnut, and that because he already hero-worshipped Snotlout and his sister would probably come up with something that would make crushing on me seem like a bad thing to him. That's just the way those two are.

"Ok Hiccup, I'll get to the point. Frankly, I don't quite trust you at the moment." He winced.

"Uh, any particular reason?" he questioned, sounding slightly tense. I smirked slightly, invisible in the night.

"People don't get as good as you have, as quickly as you have. I want to know how you're doing it! And I'm not going to accept no for an answer Hiccup. If I don't get the answer out of you _now_, I _WILL_ force it out of you!" My right hand pulled something out of my waist pouch. _Very_ carefully. Making sure that I was holding it by the blunt end, I brought it into the light. It glinted wickedly, promising pain beyond anything he could handle.

It was ever so gratifying to see him pale the way he did. He knew _exactly_ what was in store for him if he didn't comply.

"Uh, Astrid- Now, there's- um, there's no need for that- really, you don't need to use that!"

"Not if you answer my questions, I won't," I said, deceptively sweetly. Strangely, he seemed to know enough about how a girls mind worked that he could see the veiled threat behind my words and tone. Snotlout probably wouldn't have gotten the hint if I had explicitly stated that I was going to kill him, with a murderous tone in my voice.

Yeah, ok, so my threat wasn't actually all that veiled, but it was still more subtle than most males on the island would have been able to perceive.

"Fire away," he replied, gulping nervously. Before he could blink, I was in his face, grabbing him by the leather he was wearing.

"First question, what in the Name of Odin is this?" I hissed at him, lifting him clear off the ground.

"Uh- It's a, um, harness?"

"For what!"

"You, er, wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

"No."

_THAT_ stumped me. Hiccup, of all people, had the nerve to try and give me no for an answer. And after I'd tried to make it clear I wouldn't accept it. I lifted my hand so that the object in it caught the light, glinting with the promise of Pain. I raised my eyebrow at him. It didn't take a genius to figure out what I was daring him to say.

"I don't suppose you feel like repeating that?" I whispered with a dangerous tone overlaying my voice.

"I said no."

"You should really think more carefully about your answers."

"It stays the same."

"I think you'll be changing your tune soon."

"Try me."

Oh, he was _SO_ asking for it. No-one turns my words against me.

"You asked for it." I jabbed the object into his arm, hard. His face contorted with pain but surprisingly; he remained, well, stoic.

Pun intended.

I raised my eyebrow at him. "I'm impressed," I admitted honestly. "I wouldn't have thought you could withstand that." He grinned wanly.

"Yeah, people seem to think that a lot."

I slammed him against the window in response. "Because it's usually true," I snapped in his face. "You can't swing a weapon of any sort, in fact, you can barely lift them!"

"That doesn't mean I can't have surprises hidden up my sleeve."

"So show them. I dare you."

My answer is still the same. No."

I sighed gently. I really didn't want to keep hurting him. I wasn't sadistic, not by anyone's standards. But I _HAD_ to know how he'd become so good! I simply refused to walk away as ignorant as when I started.

"Hiccup, I really don't want to hurt you more than I have to," I said, almost whispering. "But I'm telling the truth when I say that you are NOT walking away from me tonight before I get what I want."

"And you're not walking away with what you want. So where does that leave us?"

"I believe it's called in impasse," I growled at him. He simply smiled slightly.

"You know you can't hold me up in the air forever Astrid. You'll tire eventually, and I haven't wasted any energy just hanging here. You'll be tired, and I'll be perfectly refreshed."

"You're still not going anywhere."

"And I'm also still not answering. You don't need to know."

I have to be brutally honest, I completely snapped at that. He'd been infuriating with his sudden success, his instant popularity, his determinedly mysterious disappearances, and now his refusal to answer. I'm rather ashamed of how I behaved, but there's nothing I can do about it now. It's all in the past.

That doesn't make me any less guilty though.

I put him down abruptly, pulling back my right arm, and punched him in the face so hard, I'm pretty sure his nose broke in two places.

"Argh!" he screamed.

"That's how serious I am about this," I hissed at him. "If you don't give me the answers I want, I swear to Odin you are going to feel more pain than you thought possible!"

He sighed heavily. "Fine," he muttered thickly through his newly broken nose. "You win. Tomorrow."

"Swear it," I replied.

"I swear on Thor's name," he muttered.

"See? Wasn't so hard now, was it? I'll meet you at your house tomorrow. I don't think I need to remind you what might happen if you decide to go back on your word."

With that, I turned and walked off.

"One question," he called out. "Why'd you use the sewing needle?"

"I thought it would be most effective in getting you to talk," I called, without looking back. It was only when I was about to go out of sight from the forge that I turned around, to find him still leaning against the window, hand over his nose, looking more broken and defeated than he had when he'd claimed to have shot down a Night Fury. It was only then that guilt clenched it's fist around my heart.

"Oh dear Odin," I whispered. "What did I do?" Ashamed of myself and my lack of control, I ran back home, never slowing, never looking back. Unable to face what I had done to him.

* * *

...

Don't kill me... Or Astrid. She's just doing what I write her to do. I admit she's a bit OOC...  
Yes, Hiccup is going to reveal Toothless to Astrid. Hopefully with a little less pouncing and axes involved compared to the movie introduction. We'll see how that goes...

Part of the plot for this fic is the idea of changing the Vikings. While I have no problem with the movie's ending, I find it hard to believe that the Vikings would change their attitude so readily. So Hiccup's going to be a bit more sneaky this time around, and pre-prepare certain vikings for the new world he has planned. He doesn't realise it yet, but Astrid may just have provided him with the perfect oppotunity to begin converting people to his cause.

I would like reviews from all who reviewed the first chapter, be you anonymous or have an account. Special thanks to all who reviewed, by the way!

Incidentally, I'm planning for the 'Sewing Needle' to become a bit of a running gag. We'll have to see how well that goes.

I think that's all. See you next time!

-Eidorian999


	3. Chapter 3

Hmmm... I'm not entirely sure I like how this chapter turned out. It's alright, I guess... But something about it disappoints me somehow. If I coud please have people's opinions on this chapter, I would be very grateful. I would especially love critical examination of it.

Alright. Time for the important part of the story. The key point in my plot for this AU of HtTYD. Well, ok, not quite. More the introduction to it.

I got a few comments on Astrid's behaviour. I realise it was a bit mean and aggressive of her, but try to realise something. Hiccup had usurped her invirtually every way. Stress has simply been building up to beat him, if only to reclaim the top spot. Throw in something like Hiccup refusing to tell her how he's doing, and I think you'd be guaranteed an explosion of emotion of _some_ sort.

A few people quite liked the guilt aspect of that. I hope you like the first part of this chapter, as it emphasises it even further.

I'll let you get on with it, shall I?

* * *

I honestly could not believe myself. I knew better than that! What part of "Self-Restraint" did I just fail to remember? Just because every irritating thing had been simply building up over the past few days did not mean that I had reason to go and _break_ Hiccup's nose! Possibly in two places!

What was wrong with me!

Before I reached home, I stopped to catch my breath. I hadn't realised it, but I was panting heavily. I leant against the nearest building, trying to get enough air into my lungs to continue. Usually I could run for just about ever, but... Now, I could hardly stay on my feet!

Why oh why oh _why_ had I just done that? Whatever Hiccup had done, it didn't merit me punching him in the face! Considering he's pretty much the one guy I can sorta put up with (Albeit only when I absolutely have to) me punching him would usually seem about as unlikely to happen as Ruff and Tuff not fighting anymore.

I was jerked out of my reverie by a sudden whooshing sound, and a flicker of movement that I sensed rather than saw. I reacted instinctively, hand dropping to where I usually carried my axe, and dropping into a crouch.

Nothing. Odd. I could have sworn there was something...

Unnerved already, and now slightly hysterical, I quickly dashed the remaining distance home. There was no way I was spending a second longer out there. Not with my mind in an all but shattered condition already.

I was lucky in a sense. My father and mother, Spitelout and Bertha Hofferson were both on the expedition to find the nest. It might seem a bit irresponsible, but they knew I was trustworthy enough to leave at home by myself. I was far from being extra-talented at all house-wifey chores, but I was capable of looking after myself.

Thus, when I barged through the front door like a Monstrous Nightmare was right behind me, there were no concerned parents to ask me what was wrong. And even if there had been I don't think I would have been able to answer. I wasn't in a very stable state-of-mind.

I grabbed my axe off of my back (Where it had been hanging the entire time) and flung it into some corner of the house, no doubt causing severe damage to any decorations that happened to be in the road. I certainly heard more than a few objects break.

Without pausing, I stomped right across the main room and up the stairs. Within seconds, I was curled up on my bed, within the safe, certain confines of my own room... Albeit, nearly _crying_.

I couldn't help but think it was completely absurd. It was _Hiccup_ for crying out loud. JUST. _HICCUP!_ WHY was I so upset! He was picked on daily before he got so freakishly good, and I never really cared. Sure, I'd whack them upside the head afterwards if they'd been really cruel, but other than that I just hadn't _cared!_ _Why_ was I so close to _crying!_

'Stop it,' I told myself, over and over. 'Just stop it! It's Hiccup! You don't care about him! He's not important, he's not talented, and he's _nothing!_ Get him out of your head!'

It was only when I woke up the next morning that I realised that I had literally cried myself to sleep. The first time since I was four.

I was in a rather bizarre mood by the time I was up and about. I was still feeling conflicted about Hiccup for some reason I simply could not fathom. I was also fairly ecstatic because I would finally find out how he'd taken my spot as top of the class. In addition to that, I was petrified that Hiccup would tell someone about my sudden loss of control last night.

After changing into a fresh set of clothes (Not that you could tell. All my clothes are identical. I'm not much of a 'clothes' girl.) And picking up my axe from where I'd thrown it (I counted at least three shattered pots, a mauled table and a shield that had been split in half.) I re-tied my hair into the tightly wound bun I always wore it in (It had come loose during the night.) And walked out of my house, looking for all the world like it was an ordinary day. (Even though I knew it was going to be anything but.)

I took an especially deep breath to calm myself down. I could tell that if I let my emotions run amuck much longer, I'd be top excited to possibly calm myself down. And I wanted to be able to examine whatever Hiccup would show me as logically as possible.

Looking around, I saw the various signs that hinted at most of the Vikings being awake, but not out and about. Smoke from chimneys, voices on the faint wind, (certainly from the Thorston's house. You could hear those two a mile away...) and the occasional sound of someone already at work, laying in firewood for tonight.

I was only focused on one particular house though.

It was sorta wierd, now that I thought about it, but Hiccup's house and mine were quite close together. What with my father essentially being chief Stoick's second-in-command (Gobber doesn't count. He's the chief's best friend.) My family was actually fairly high up in the pecking order. As such, we had one of the better houses in the entire village. Even if the roof was burnt off about once every month. (Usually more.)

All I had to do was walk perhaps thirty paces up the hill, and I was right outside Hiccup's house.

"Alright, Hiccup," I murmured to myself. "If you aren't awake by now, you'll regret it. I'm not waiting any longer." Naturally, it was just as I reached for the door to yank it open that Hiccup came out of it. What with the first thing he saw outside his door being my hand outstretched towards him, his reaction was kinda understandable.

"GAH! Don't punch me again!" He yelped, cringing away from me, arms up in a pathetic attempt at some sort of self-defence.

"Calm down," I shouted over him. "I'm not going to hit you!" He peeked out from behind his hands at this, his sea-green eyes bright and hopeful.

I mentally slapped myself before that thought could develop any further. Honestly, I didn't know _what_ was up with me...

"Really?" he asked cautiously.

I sighed. "Yes, really. Now hurry up and get ready. Or did you forget our deal last night?"

"How could I?" he muttered, fingering his nose gently. Surprisingly, it looked almost completely normal. The only difference was that it was now bent slightly towards the left side of his face. Other than that, there was absolutely no evidence he'd been punched in the face. I couldn't help but voice my astonishment.

"How..." I started, staring at his nose.

"Gobber. I woke him up last night to see if he could fix it. He was a bit grumpy at being woken up for something less important than either a raid or the forge burning down, but he fixed it. If painfully," he added gingerly, gently touching his nose again.

"Right," I said dumbly, still staring at his nose in vague shock. I'd had no idea Gobber could fix up a broken body part as easily as he could weaponry.

"So..." Hiccup started, looking slightly creeped out by my staring. "You wanted to ask me stuff?"

"Not quite," I replied, tearing my eyes off his nose... Only to look straight into his sea-green eyes just as the light from the rising sun caught them. Instantly, I was just as mesmerised as I had been a second beforehand.

Somehow, through a strength of will I hadn't even known I _had_, I was able to snap myself out of it before he noticed... Hopefully.

"What then?"  
"I want you to show me how you've become so good at Dragon Training. Remember?"

"Ah. Right." He grimaced, then sighed. "Ok. Just, can you promise me something?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Maybe."

"Just... Don't act straight away, ok? I can tell you right now, whatever you think I've been doing, the truth of it is... Well, a lot more bizarre for starters. Can you just please, _please_ promise me you'll wait and listen to everything before doing anything."

I sighed resentfully. That was a pretty comprehensive promise. Still, it made sense... But if it was really that bad... Would it be worth it to keep that promise?

If I'd been able to, I would have chopped off my own head with my very own axe. Vikings _always_ keep a promise. We NEVER go back on our word. Those who did were the sort of scum that made up the feared 'Outcasts'.

"Fine. I promise to listen to anything you have to say, before acting."

His smile was enough to send me into another daze.

"Thanks, Astrid."

"I just hope I'm not going to regret this."

"So where exactly are you taking me?"

"Well, you know that spot where you saw me carrying the bundle of leather? It's quite near there, barely fifty paces away."

"What! I was that close!"

"Well, it is kinda hidden by the trees. It's basically a giant hole in the ground. You'll see what I mean."

"As long as I finally get my answers."

It didn't take long before we were standing above what could only be described as a hole in the ground. It looked like the ground in the area had simply sunk, which looked rather odd. There was a small lake in the middle of it.

I raised my eyebrow. "Ok, Hiccup. What is this place?"

"This," he said with a grin. "Is where a friend of mine lives. Now Astrid," he said, frowning deeply and crossing his arms. "Remember, you promised to listen. Oh, and- uh, would you mind putting the axe down here? He _really_ doesn't like weapons."

I have to say, I hedged at that. _REALLY_ hedged. I was very very fond of my axe (The fact that Hiccup forged it notwithstanding.) And I was far from willing to just leave it.

Eventually (I'm still not quite sure how, I got distracted by Hiccup's eyes fairly often.) he persuaded me to drop the axe and climb down into the hole with him.

"Ok," he muttered. "If you can just move _really_ slowly we might be able to get in without him knowing we're here. I'd like you to get a look at him before he sees you."

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"Well, let's just say he has a mild prejudice, and leave it at that."

"Huh?" I replied, quite intelligently.

"I mean, he doesn't really like most people."

I followed him out from behind the rocks carefully, taking his advice to heart. It didn't seem as though anyone were down here... Whatever Hiccup was up to, he had better not be tricking me. If he is, Odin help me, he _will not_ live to the next dawn.

A sudden roaring echoed in the pit, reverberating off the solid rock walls. The effect was quite intimidating, and I couldn't help but bolt back to the cover of the rocks.

Or I would have, were it not for something standing right between me and the rocks.

Jet black, wings stretched above it's body, teeth bared, claws ready. I was looking at some sort of dragon I had never, _EVER_ seen before.

"Uh, Toothless: Astrid. Astrid: Toothless."

* * *

Uh oh. BIG uh oh.

Like it? Or not? As I said earlier, I'm not quite sure about this chapter.

Can I just say to all you wonderful readers out there, Thank You, so much. I honestly did not expect this much of a positive response to this fic when I posted it! It's made me quite happy to know that so many of you like the story enough to read it, even more so to leave reviews.

See you next time! And so will Toothless!

-Eidorian999


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for how long this took. My brother came home, stole the computer, and started playing LOTRO. 'Nuff said.

This is another iffy chapter in my opinion. So, please review.

I won't apologise for the cliffy last chapter! That was simply too much fun!

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"Ok," I muttered to myself. "There's a dragon in front of me. A great big, deadly dragon. I don't have any weapon. Conclusion: I'm about to die." Hiccup's voice snapped through my thoughts.

"Toothless, calm down. It's ok, she's a friend." And to my complete and utter astonishment, the black dragon flicked it's eyes to Hiccup, and sat back on it's haunches!

"How'd you do that?" I asked, loathing the fear that was easily apparent in my voice. Unbelievably, Hiccup walked around from behind me, stopping right next to the dragon's head!

"Astrid, I know this is wierd-"

"You got that right!" I hissed at him. Not the best idea. The black dragon (Toothless, was it? What an absurd name. He _DEFINITELY_ had teeth!) hissed right back at me, his teeth painfully obvious.

"But please, listen. Remember, you gave your word!"

"Why do you think I'm still here!" I growled. It really was the only reason I was still there. If I hadn't somehow managed to remember my promise to him, I would have bolted out of there like a rabbit. I had to admit though, it was very tempting to break my word. As ashamed as I am to admit it... It really was very tempting.

"Uh- Right. Um... Ok, how about you ask questions or something, 'cause I don't really know where to start."

Typical men...

"For starters, how about what the hell is he!" I yelled, causing quite a few birds nesting in the area to fly away as quickly as they could.

"Toothless? Uh, you're probably not going to believe me... He's a Night Fury."

My heart stopped dead for several heartbeats. When it restarted, it was easily going several times faster than what could possibly be healthy.

"You," I whispered. "You... You actually got it? You really shot it down!"

"Um... Yeah, kinda. Like I said, I really did hit a Night Fury."

"Ok... Second question: _what_ is he doing here?"

"Oh, he- uh, he can't fly." I gave him a dumb look at this.

"Uh, Hiccup? _Of course_ he can FLY! How else would we have not seen him before!"

"No, I mean he can't fly _anymore_!" That one definitely threw me for a loop.

"What now?" I asked, puzzled.

"He can't fly anymore because his tail fin got torn off when he crashed. I don't know what exactly happened to it, but long story short; Without my help, he's stuck on the ground."

"Why would you help him get off the ground again!"

"He spared my life. And I owe him for grounding him in the first place."

"He spared you? What do you mean?" I asked, thoroughly confused now.

"Well," Hiccup started. "I cut him loose from the ropes, and instead of just killing me on the spot, he let me live."

"Why did you cut him out of the ropes! You didn't think of _telling_ someone!"

"Not... Not really, no." I groaned.

"How can you be this thick!" I yelled, causing Toothless to hunker down and bare his teeth. I quickly backed up, hands in the air. The _last_ thing I wanted to do at the moment was annoy him.

"Easy Toothless," Hiccup said calmly, causing the dragon to become much more placid. He sighed.

"Look, Astrid, here's the deal: I don't think the dragons are actually as bloodthirsty as we all think they are."

"You've got to be kidding me. There's no telling how many hundreds of us have died because of them!"

"There's no telling how many thousands of them have died because of us!" Hiccup yelled right back at me. "Can't you see that? For every one of us that they kill, we must kill at least ten of them!"

"Well what are we supposed to do, let them steal our food!"

"Astrid! Just look at Toothless! Does he look like something that steals food just to feed himself! Most dragons prefer fish! I know that for a fact!" My mouth dropped open at this.

"You've tried _feeding_ them!" I shrieked. "It didn't occur to you that they might decide to just eat _you_ instead!"

"Well, ok, I've really only gotten close to Toothless and a couple of Terrors, but I've left food out for the other dragons in the cage. Nine times out of ten, they'll go for the fish. They don't need to raid us for food Astrid! They can get plenty enough for themselves by fishing!"

It struck me then that he definitely had a point. That was, if dragons really did prefer fish over sheep and such. If they did, then Hiccup had a very good question. Just why _were_ they raiding us, when they could get enough food for themselves easily?

It must have shown on my face that I was giving the idea some thought, because Hiccup continued, "Think, Astrid. They don't need to raid us for food, but they obviously do. Something's not right about it! There's something we don't know, that we don't understand! They're not raiding us for themselves! Something _else_ is making them attack."

"Like what!" I snapped, infuriated that his ideas were beginning to make sense. It was the only thing I could think of that might stop him from planting more ideas in my head. "If something else is responsible, what is it?" His shoulders slumped slightly in defeat.

"I don't know yet," he reluctantly admitted. "That's partially why I'm trying to help Toothless fly again. If he can take me to the nest, I might be able to find out what's wrong with them."

My idea had backfired. He was once again making painful sense.

I sighed reluctantly. I hated, _really_ hated to admit it, but he was right, as far as I could see. If dragons preferred fish, they didn't need to raid us, as there were certainly more than enough fish in the sea for them. But they were coming for the supply of bigger food, us and our sheep.

That didn't mean I could see eye-to-eye with him just yet. The idea of _flying_ a dragon; let alone a Night Fury of all species... Well, it left me a little terrified. Not that I would admit that to him. Or anyone else. EVER.

"Say that you're right," I started. "What do you plan to do about it?" He grinned at me, a rather sheepish, not to mention foolish, looking grin.

"Well," Hiccup said. "I haven't quite managed flying Toothless yet. We're still working on it. I need to get the design right, and then there are a couple of other details, like learning the right fin positions..."

"Hiccup," I interrupted, ignoring how his name felt on my tongue. "I have no clue what you're talking about."

"Oh! Right, sorry about that." He grinned again. I was almost starting to like that grin... Almost. "Well," he continued. "Seeing as Toothless can't fly without his tailfin, I had the crazy idea of making one for him-"

"Yeah, that is just a _little_ crazy," I interrupted, again.

"-And I've kinda been working on it ever since. Not to mention, I've been learning some neat stuff about dragons in general."

"Such as their weak points?" I asked pointedly.

"Yeah, exactly! I mean, you remember how I made the gronckle just keel over?"

"Yes, I've been wondering especially hard how you managed that."

"Well, I just rubbed it's nose with this grass I found. I was trying out another idea for the fin I made Toothless, and we crashed into the grass when I pulled too hard. When I got back to him, he was rolling around like mad in this patch of really tall grass. I decided to see if it'd work on another dragon, and guess what! It did!"

"I see. So what, they like the scent or something?"

"That's my guess."

"So all this time, you've been using trickery and thinking, instead of simply outright trying to whack the dragons to death?"

"Uh, yeah. Basically."

"Well, that makes me feel slightly better," I muttered, unfortunately loud enough for him to hear.

"Jealous over how well I was doing?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

My own eyes narrowed rapidly in response, and if it hadn't been for the black figure standing guard right behind him, I'm pretty sure I would have tried to cut his head off.

"You. Cheated." I said through gritted teeth.

"Whatever you say Astrid."

"So after you learn how to fly this devil," A quick snarl from Toothless. "What do you plan to do then?"

"Well... Ok, this is where it gets a little complex..."

"Oh dear Odin," I sighed.

"Maybe not so much complex as... ambitious."

I simply stared at him. "Hiccup," I said bluntly. "You're trying to learn how to fly the most dangerous dragon species known to Viking. _WHAT_ could possibly be more ambitious than that!"

"Persuading more Vikings that we don't need to kill dragons?"

"I take back my last statement," I said weakly.

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Well, there you go. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll try and make the next one a bit longer, to make up for taking so long. Bear with me though, as I do have a few assignments coming up soon, so I need to keep those in focus. No idea when the next chapter will be.

-Eidorian999


	5. Chapter 5

I'm really questioning how good this chapter is... I definitely think it needs some refining. However, it's been too long since chapter 4 I feel, so I thought I should at least give you what I've got. Any comments, criticisms, and otherwise helpful feedback will be looked at and taken into account, so that I can edit this thing.

So please, if you want better quality from me than this... thing that I'm posting as a chapter, review

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I was still sitting down on a rock roughly two hours later, simply watching the pair, dumbfounded. Really, can you blame me? The deadliest and fastest of all known dragons, the only one never seen, let alone killed, was barely twenty metres from me. And just in case that wasn't surreal enough, Hiccup was playing with it. Or was Toothless a he? Certainly didn't seem like a she to me...

It was... bizarre, in every sense of the word, to see Hiccup using a shield he'd apparently left down here, to reflect the light he was standing in to make a small spot of light; one that Toothless was vigorously trying to catch with his paws. (I think. I'm not entirely sure what they should be called...) He looked so... harmless. Well, at least I knew how he'd distracted that Terrible Terror. Although there were still a few other incidents I wanted to ask him about.

But I contented myself with simply watching him, seeing how the two of them played together. Eventually, without my even realising it, my thoughts drifted, losing coherence, and I fell asleep.

"Astrid? Hey, Astrid... C'mon, time to wake up..." I moaned at the voice, trying to roll over to get away from it. Unfortunately, I was still on the same rock that I was earlier, and it didn't have terribly much room on it.

"Oof!" I let out a sharp breath, the sudden impact jarring me out of unconsciousness, and into reality, dazed and confused.

"Wha- Wher-" Was my initial (and as usual, _very_ intelligent) response.

"Astrid," I heard Hiccup's voice through my befuddled state.

"Go away!" I grumbled, lashing out, hoping to hit him, but it seemed he'd expected the attack.

"Come on Astrid, you need to wake up. Toothless isn't a very patient dragon." Now _that_ got my attention.

I shot bolt upright, eyes wide open. "What about Toothless?" I asked him hurriedly. And a bit nervously. I definitely didn't want to end up on Toothless' bad side. It didn't require much of an imagination to guess that anything on his bad side would resemble the catapult tower after the most recent raid: utterly ruined.

"He kinda wants to meet you, in his way."

"Whaddya mean, _his_ way?" I certainly didn't like the hidden emphasis. I didn't know what it was implying, and that fact wasn't exactly reassuring.

"Well, I introduced you earlier, but he seems to have his own way of greeting for the first time. It might just have been me, but he kinda brushes his nose against your palm."

"I am _not_ letting that thing put it's mouth anywhere near my hand!" I yelled hysterically, without giving any thought to the actual dragon.

I heard a tremendous snort of what sounded almost like derision. Looking past Hiccup's shoulder, I quickly figured out that Toothless was definitely feeling a bit contemptuous towards me.

"Can you blame me?" I snapped at the creature, bravado stemming from Odin-Only-Knows-What. Fortunately for me, Toothless didn't take offence at this, seeming almost to shrug his haunches in reply.

I sighed. If the deadly dragon wanted to say hi to me, how could I really refuse, given that I was very much in a life-and-death situation?

"Oh alright," I moaned. "I'll say hi to the great big fire breathing lizard! Why not? Invite a couple of Nightmares while you're at it!"

"Astrid," Hiccup said, a bit reproachfully. Definitely a new experience for me. Hiccup being reproachful towards _me_. "C'mon, he's not really all that dangerous. I'm the one who shot him down, for Thor's Sake, and he forgave me!"

A very fair point.

I tentatively walked towards the jet-black reptile, my hands cautiously extended, fingers splayed out. He simply sat back on his haunches and waited for me to get closer. When I was about half an arms length away, however Hiccup said "Astrid, stop there."

I stopped instantly, fearing that I'd done something wrong. When I looked over at him in the corner of my eye, he simply smiled a bit and said, "He likes to make the last move." I looked back to find Toothless staring straight at me with these really (And I mean _really_ big green eyes. They were even greener than Hiccup's.

I found myself unable to hold that gaze, shameful as it sounds, but I freely admit it. There's something about trying to hold a stare with a dragon, particularly one as intelligent as Toothless, which you simply can't stand against. I don't know how to describe it, neither does Hiccup. But something about their eyes forces you to break eye contact with them. It's unnerving at best and downright scary at worst.

I almost collapsed with relief when Toothless gently touched my open palm with his snout. I'd been unable to block the images in my head of Toothless deciding to just chomp off my hand and render me harmless.

Hiccup was snickering at me in the background, but I honestly couldn't care less; at that very moment, I was touching the creature most feared by all Vikings, with no weapon, no shield, nothing, and we weren't harming each other.

That might seem trivial to you, but to most Vikings, the idea is terrifying. We've been raised to fight, kill, in some cases fear, but overall hate dragons of any kind. And when you've been exposed to the sort of legends surrounding a creature like the Night Fury, you sort of build up this mental image of teeth, claws, wings, a mouth to blast fireballs from, and nothing else. Occasionally a few dozen eyes, what with it having perfect aim.

So touching a Night Fury on the nose, right above it's _mouth_, is a pretty fear-inducing idea.

When I lifted my head up again, I found those great big eyes staring at me once more. But this time, I held their gaze.

"Hiccup," I said weakly, once he'd helped me climb back out of the cove. "Hurry up and finish off that gear to fly Toothless. But rig the saddle for a passenger would you?" I grinned slightly. "'Cos I'm not letting you fly that thing unless I'm on him too."

His answering grin was almost enough to make me faint, dizzy and disoriented as I already was. "No problem Astrid," he replied. "Welcome aboard." He stuck his hand out to me, and instead of brushing him off, I took it.

* * *

The next few days were both eventful and uneventful. There was no further dragon training; for now at least; but Hiccup had taken my 'request' thoroughly to heart and by the next day had obtained enough leather for a decent extension to the saddle and to make a second harness. I quite enjoyed watching him stitch the new leather onto the saddle, seeing firsthand the talent for needlework I'd been told he had.

I'd brought my axe down into the cove with me on the second day, so whenever I wasn't just watching Hiccup stitch the new leather together (Or play with Toothless, or feed him, etc...) I practiced a little. Nothing big, just a few exercises to maintain my wrists and swing control. You wouldn't think so, but wielding an axe can actually be quite a delicate business. You have to maintain a precise control over the axe or you could easily lop off your own head.

It became quite awkward later on in the day when Hiccup needed to take my measurements to make the new harness. I wouldn't have been bothered by it at all. (After all, he was taking the measurement off my back and would use those results to estimate the rest. Although I admit that Hiccup measuring my waist had me blushing slightly on its own.) But Hiccup became really flustered and it was impossible not to start blushing furiously myself.

As soon as the harness was made the next day, I couldn't help but try it on to see if it would fit alright. Not only did it fit perfectly, but Hiccup managed to finish the extended saddle that same day! He really was far more hard-working than anyone ever gave him credit for.

Despite all that happened during that rather turbulent time, what happened on the fourth day is something I don't think I could possibly forget.

* * *

Another cliffy. I'm so evil...

Well, not much to say everybody. But I do have one thing:

Hope you had a merry Christmas! And Make sure you have a good New Year!

-Eidorian999


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